Copy-book.



J. W. C. GILMAN.

COPY BOOK.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 17.1905.

Copies, L23.

mnnsw s Gamm PATBNTED MAY 8, 1906.

JONATHAN lV. C. GILMAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COPY-BOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1906.

Application filed uly 17,1905. Serial No. 269,967.

To @ZZ whom, .it 11i/(ty concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN W. C. GIL- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Copy-Books, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in explaining its nature.

This invention relates to means for teaching penmanship and at the same time effecting economy in the use of material necessary for the purpose. It also embraces certain other advantages, which will be explained in connection with the description of the invention.

Heretofore penmanship has been taught largely by means of copy-books, so called, in which a number of sheets of ruled paper, each having a copy at its top, are sewed to covers in the ordinary way and which book requires to be opened to expose the page upon which the exercise, is to be written. This method of teaching is not as flexible as is desirable, and the use of the copy-paper and Vc opies in the form of books is relatively expensive.

My invention provides very great flexibility in the employment of the necessary means, and it also makes a very'material saving in the cost of the material necess? ry, and this is not an unimportant factor when the large increase in the number of pupils yearly is considered and the large increase in the amount of material for their use which is necessary.

Tn practicing my invention I dissociate the blank paper, which may or may Vnot be ruled and upon which the copy is to be written by the pupil, from the copy itself and from a cover. This reduces the principal part ofthe material which is used .to its lowest terms, as nothing can be cheaper and less expensive than sheets of paper, either ruled or not and either in the form of a pad or not. I prefer usually to use practice-sheets in the formof a pad, and in some instances, according to the grade of the pupil, to provide them with a form of ruling for assistance in the transcription of the copy. I also for certain grades employ practice-sheets which may be transparent enough to permit the copy to be traced and which may be alternated, if desired, with sheets which are not transparent copy-sheets are of a peculiar character.

and upon which the copy for practice by tracing is to be transcribed. This is suitable for use by younger pupils or those of the lower grades.

The copies are upon independent sheets, preferably of about the size of the practicesheets. As many independent copy-sheets may be used as may be desired. Ordinarily three sheets will be sufficient for the ordinary requirements of a term" of school. These The copies to be transcribed are arranged upon them in lines or series from side to side, and they are so arranged upon each face of the sheet. They do not, however, extend from top to bottom of the sheet uniformly, but are arranged in opposed relation to each other upon the sheet, so that the sheet is reversible and in groups which extend to or verynearlyto the center of' the sheet. Half the copies upon each side of the sheet may be used with the practice-sheets without reversing the copysheet. The purpose of this disposition ofthe copies upon the copy-sheet is, first, to bring each copy as near the top of the practice-sheet as is practicable with my invention; second, to provide such an extension of the copy-sheet under the practice -pad as shall serve to iirmly hold the copy-sheet in position, and this eflect is increased because of the especial cover which is employed and which combines with the practce-pad and the copy-sheet to thus firmly hold the copy-sheet with respect to the pract.'cepad. Each copy-sheet, it will thus be seen, will have four groups of copies-two upon each face-opposedly arranged with res ect to each other. These copies may be o any desired character as to their substance and of any desired angle, in clfnation, or shape of letter. They are of course arranged with proper regard to sequence of use in instruct on, and they are also usually accompanied by such instruction or rules as may be necessary for the gu.' dance of the teacher and pupil, which are conveniently arranged above or below the copies. T also prefer that each of the copy-sheets have at its center on each face and between the two groups of opposedly-arranged copies printed matter wh" ch is adapted to be memorized and transcrfbed from memory on the practice-sheets. Ths may be in the form of some well-known verses or in any other form which may be desired, either poetry or prose. The matter is first to be memorized by the ICO pupil and is then to be written out in the characters of the copy on the practice-pad and is for the purpose of testing his proficiency in writing without having a copy before him. Of course the copy is not then in sight. f

Each copy-sheet may be so constructed that the portion of the sheet that extends above the practice-pad may be turned upward at an angle thereto-in order that the copy may instead of lying flatly on the desk, as is the case with the ordinary copy-book, be turned or tilted upward to a more or less inclined position to the practice-pad and one that shall be practically perpendicular to the line of the pupils vision and so that he gets a distinct and true view of the copy instead of. the more or less foreshortened view which is obtained where the copy lies in the same plane as the practice-paper. This result preferably is secured by means of longitudinalv creases or grooves extending across the copysheet from side to side under and between the copies, the groove or crease so weakening the sheet that it may be tilted or bent upward upon the line thereof.

The practice-pad and copy-sheets are held in a portfolio which not only serves to conT tain the pad and sheets and keep them clean, but also as a cover for a portion of the practice-pad, upon which the hand of the pupil may rest while he is writing. This not only serves to iprevent the hand from soiling the portion o the practice-pad which is not exposed, but it also serves to bridge the face of the practice-pad, so that the support given the hand is the same from the top to the bottom of the pad, no change in the osition of the hand with respect to the pa occurring as the bottom of the pad is drawn out and is written upon. The portfolio also serves to hold the practice-pad and copy-sheet from endwise movement with respect to each other. It will be understood that the practice pad and sheets are not attached to the portfolio and have movements in and out with respect to the same, and they are also reversible with respect to it. To permit these advantages to be secured, the portfolio is constructed with what may be termed a pocket for holding and containing a portion of the practice-pad and copy-sheets. From this pocket on one side extends a single side of the portfoho, upon which the remainder of the practice# pad and copy-sheets may rest when they are entirely within the portfolio. From the upper edge of this section extends a lap which is of sufficient size to not only vcover the single side of the portfolio to which I have referred, but'also to close into the pocket of the portfolio, and thus act vto secure it in place over the practice-.pad and copy-sheets. When open, the cover acts as a support and protection for the practice-pad and copy-sheets.

It will thus be seen that all the elements or 1 devices necessary for the thorough teaching of penmanship are associated together in such a flexible and economical manner as to provide for all the necessary requirements for the superior teaching of writing and for effecting all possible economies in the use of the material employed, the flexibility to which I have referredpermitting also the book to be renewed in all its parts-that is, in practice-pads, paper, copies, and binding. There is thus permitted an indefinite use of the copies, thereby very much prolonging the use of the book as compared with the use of the ordinary copy-book, which becomes ineffective as soon as the copy-space has been written upon, the copies being no longer available for use in teaching.

I will now describe the invention in conjunction with the drawings forming a part of this specification, whereinf Figure l is a view in plan of my improved book as used in writing. Fig. 2 is a view in perspective thereof, showing the copy as standing perpendicularly to the line of vision. Figs. 3 and 4 represent forms of copies, and Fig. 5 shows a copy and copy-sheet when use for tracing.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a number of practice-sheets which l have called a practice-pad. These sheets may have any desired ruling, and they may or may not be secured to each other. I refer, however, that they be, and they may e in part transparent in order that they may be usedr for tracing the copy which is then placed underneath the transparent sheet. When tracingsheets are used, they preferably alternate with the other sheets. The sheets are of the same size and, assembled together in the form of a pad or block, are adapted to be inclosed within the portfolio B with the copy-sheets C.

The portfolio is represented in Figs. l and 2. The use of the copy-sheet in tracing is represented in Fig. 5, and portions of a copysheet are represented in Figs. 3 and 4.

c represents one series of copies upon a copy-sheet, and c represents the series of copies which are reversely arranged upon the sheet with respect to the copies c. Between the two series of copies thus reversely ar- IOO ranged is the space c2, within which the copy and when closed to cover the portion thereof which extends beyond the pocket.

In use the copy-sheet is pulled from the ISO pocket sufficiently to expose above the practice-sheet the copy which it is desired to transcribe to the practice-sheet or as represented in Fig. l. The portion of the practice-sheet which is exposed is then used by the pupil until the upper edge of the pocket is reached, when the copy-sheet and practice-pad are drawn from the pocket as needed to expose portions of the practice-sheet upon which the copy has not been written. The side b of the portfolio thus always at its top extends upon the upper surface of the practice-sheet which is being used, and it serves not only to keep the unwritten portion of the sheet clean, but also as a bridge-rest for the hand, which is particularly-useful when the lower portion of the practice-sheet is being written upon.

The practice and co y sheets are of very nearly the full width o the portfolio, so that the ends of the portfolio serve to assist in holding the copy-sheet and `the practicesheets in any desired relation to each other when the copy-sheet has been drawn outward with respect to the practice-sheets or when both have been drawn outward from the pocket.

c3 represents one of the lines in the copysheet for determining the folding of portions thereof and whereby the copy may be turned upward with respect to the portfolio and to the upper end of the practice-sheets for the purpose above explained. Vhen the sheet is prepared for this use, it is desirable that there should be such a folding-line beneath each copy. l/Vhile it is not necessary that there should actually be a line of any kind at this place for the purpose of permitting the copy-Sheet to be so used, it is desirable that there be such a line and that it should also be a weakened line, such as would be produced by perforations or by a groove or crease, that the line of the fold may be determined in advance, and that the folding itself may be easily done. I have represented the copy-sheet as having been folded and as bearing an angular relation to the practice-sheets and to the portfolio.

As i have said, the practice-sheets bear copies on both faces which are reversely arranged, and a set of three sheets thus bearing copies provides a range of copies equivalent to that supplied by the ordinary writingbook.

Tt will be seen from what I have said that the copy-sheets are not only reversible by being turned without changing the face thereof, but that they are also reversible by turning the faces as well and that this gives four different positions in which each copy-sheet may be used with the practice-pad. This use of the copy-sheet requires, therefore, that it be so independent of the pad that it may be so turned and also that other of the three copy-sheets usually employed may be substituted therefor and have the same relation to the practice-pad. This permits fresh or new practice-pads to be employed with the same set of copy-sheets as the old pads are used, and the vhole construction is such as to give the greatest degree of flexibility of use, in that the portfolio, the practice-pad, and the copy-sheets being not attached to each other are each renewable independently ofthe other. This also works out an economy in the material used, which is of importance, especially as compared with the ordinary copy-book.

Substantially the entire surface of both sides of each sheet of the practice-pad can be used for receiving the transcription. New practice-paper may be substituted without requiring new copies. This permits the same copies to be used much longer than they can be employed with the common form of copy-book. The portfolio or cover may be used with any desired number of practice-pads or copy-sheets. This also works out an economy in manufacture, in that no expense is necessary for uniting the sheets of the practice-pad, copy-sheets, and the portfolio or cover.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States l. A copy or writing book comprising independent copy-sheets, an independent practice-pad, and a binding one portion of which forms a pocket for holding the copy-sheets and practice-pad, one portion a rest for the same when partially or wholly withdrawn from the pocket, and one portion a hand-rest extending upon the practice-pad.

2. A copy or writing book comprising independent copy-sheets, an independent practice-pad, and a binding one portion of which forms a pocket for holding the copy-sheets and practice-pad, one portion a rest for the same when partially or wholly withdrawn from the pocket,- one portion a hand-rest extending upon the practice-pad, and one portion a cover-flap.

3. A copy or writing book having a number of practice-sheets and combined with said sheets a loose copy-sheet adapted to be withdrawn laterally therefrom, said copysheet having copies reversely arranged thereon, whereby as the copy sheet is withdrawn the copy may show beyond the edge of said practice-sheets and said practicesheets may act to hold the copy-sheet in place by engaging with the unwithdrawn portion thereof.

4. A copy or writing book having a number of practice-sheets and combined with said sheets a loose copy-sheet adapted to be withdrawn laterally therefrom, whereby as the copy-sheet is withdrawn the copy thereon may show beyond the edge of said practice-sheets and said practice-sheets may act to hold the copy-sheet in place by engage- IOD IIC

ment With the unwithdrawn portion thereof, and means whereby the Withdrawn portion of said copy-sheet with the copy thereon may be inclined to bear an angular relation With respect to the plane of the practice-sheets.

5. A copy or Writing book having a binding one portion of Which forms a pocket, a number of practice-sheets contained in said pocket and adapted to be laterally Withdrawn so 'as to be written upon, a portion of said pocket acting as a rest for the hand of the Writer and combined With said practicesheets a loose copy-sheet having a copy or other matter Written thereon7 said copysheet being adapted to be Withdrawn laterally from said practice-sheets so that a por- I tion of said copy-sheet will show beyond the p end of said practice-sheets.

6. A copy or Writing book having a number of Writing or practice sheets and combined with said sheets a loose copy-sheet adapted to be Withdrawn laterally therefrom, whereby as the copy-sheet is Withdrawn the copy thereon may show beyond the edge of said practice-sheets and said practice-sheets act to hold the copy-sheet in place by engagement with the unwithdrawn portion thereof.

JONATHAN W. C. GILMAN.

Vtnesses:

F. F. RAYMOND, 2d, R. E. BREWER. 

